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Dear
General Practitioner,
MENINGOCOCCAL
GROUP C CONJUGATE VACCINE:
IMMUNISATION
OF FIRST YEAR UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE STUDENTS
This
letter provides you with further information about immunising
first year university and college students against meningococcal
disease as announced in the Chief Medical Officer/Chief Nursing Officer/Chief
Pharmacist letter of 20 July 1999.
The key
points are:
1.
The Health Education Authority (1{EA) plan to send prospective
first year university and college students a letter and an
information leaflet via a Universities and Colleges Admissions
Service (UCAS) mail shot when they are offered a university or
college place. The letter and information leaflet will inform
them that they should visit their GP prior to taking up their
place to be immunised with the current polysaccharide
meningococcal vaccine.
2.
The HEA will send each GP surgery 200 leaflets for students, a
dispenser and a poster in late August/early September.
3.
The vaccines for this part of the programme will be provided
centrally and supplied free of charge to GPs through Farillon in
the same way as for other childhood/routine vaccines, either to
GPs direct or to NHS Trust pharmacy departments e.g. hospitals
for onward distribution to GPs, health centres. Orders should be
faxed to Farillon on 01708 378790. Only order for those patients
who have requested an immunisation.
4. An
item of service fee for immunising first years is currently
under negotiation with the General Practitioners Committee of
the British Medical Association.
5.
Students and other patients who require meningococcal vaccines
for travel purposes should still be immunised with the currently
available A+C vaccines. For this purpose, you should order the
vaccine from the manufacturer, either Pasteur Merieux or Smith -
Kline Beecham in the usual way or alternatively prescribe it on
an FP10. There is no item of service fee for travel
immunisations against meningococcal disease.
Copies
of this letter are being distributed to District Directors of
Public Health, CCDCs,
Immunisation Co-ordinators, Medical Directors of NHS Trusts,
Chairs of Primary Care
Groups, Nurse Executive Directors, HA Nurse Advisers and Community
Services Pharmacists.
Please
would you share this information with your Practice Nurses. If you
require further information or clarification please liaise with
your local immunisation co-ordinator. In addition, up4o~te
information can be found on the Internet at http://www.doh.gov.uk/meningitis-vaccine.htm.
Yours
faithfully,
DR D
M SALISBURY MB BS FRCP MFPHM
Principal Medical Officer
CC:
District Directors of Public Health
CCDCs
Immunisation
Co-ordinators
Medical
Directors of NHS Trusts
Chairs
of Primary Care Groups
Nurse
Executive Directors
HA
Nurse Advisers
Community
Services Pharmacists.
16422 H~ 35K iP
AUG99
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